Lyft has hired a new C-level executive: Jon McNeill, who joins as Chief Operating Officer. McNeill previously held a top role at Tesla, where he was president of Global Sales & Service, overseeing all of the company’s showroom and customer-facing interactions.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed on the company’s earnings call on Wednesday that McNeill was departing the company, though he didn’t reveal what McNeill’s next move would be. Lyft sent a note confirming McNeill’s hire shortly after, citing his many years of experience in entrepreneurship and transportation as primary reasons for his selection to the senior role.
“Jon is a world-class leader who brings deep experience as a highly successful entrepreneur and executive,” Lyft CEO and co-founder Logan Green said in a statement provided to TechCrunch. “Last year, the Lyft community experienced more growth than in all previous years combined, growing rides by 2.3x and increasing market share by more than 50%. Jon is the right leader to build upon this momentum with his unique background of starting companies from scratch and managing at scale.”
McNeill explained in his own statement that his reason for joining has to do with the ride-hailing company’s ability to “take care of both customers and drivers,” along with the “passion of [their] leaders and teams.”
